Tales Before Tolkien is a collection of fantasy fiction which inspired J.R.R. Tolkien.

Editor Douglas A. Anderson has noted that the title Tales before Tolkien was suggested by the publisher; his original title had been Roots of the Mountain: Fantasy before Tolkien.[1]

From the publisher

"For those interested in J.R.R. Tolkien's sources comes Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy, edited by Douglas A. Anderson (The Annotated Hobbit), which collects 22 classic stories by such masters as George Macdonald, Andrew Lang, Lord Dunsany and James Branch Cabell. Arthur Machen aficionados will especially appreciate "The Coming of the Terror" (an abridgement of his short novel The Terror), hitherto unreprinted since its initial magazine appearance in 1917. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information."